Gregor and the Code of Claw (Underland Chronicles Series #5)

by Suzanne Collins

Overview

The stunning conclusion to the riveting Gregor the Overlander series by bestselling author Suzanne Collins.

Everyone in the Underland has been taking great pains to keep The Prophecy of Time from Gregor. Gregor suspected it says something awful but he never imagined just how awful: It calls for the warrior's death. Now, with an army of rats approaching and his mom and sister still in Regalia, Gregor the warrior must gather up his courage to help defend Regalia and get his family home safely. The entire existence of the Underland is in Gregor's hands, and time is running out. There is a code to be cracked, a mysterious new princess, Gregor's burgeoning dark side, and a war to end all wars. This is the thrilling conclusion to Suzanne Collins's New York Times bestselling middle grade series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780439791441
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/25/2013
Series:	Underland Chronicles Series , #5
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.50(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Suzanne Collins is the inter­nationally bestselling author of the Hunger Games series, which also includes the novels The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Together, the books have sold over 100 million copies and were the basis for five popular films. Her other books include the acclaimed Underland Chronicles series, which begins with Gregor the Overlander, and the picture book Year of the Jungle, illustrated by James Proimos. To date, her books have been published in fifty-three languages around the world.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Gregor and the Code of Claw:"Perhaps Collins's greatest achievement in these tales is the effortless introduction of weighty geopolitical ethics into rip-roaring adventure . . . A fitting end for an unflinchingly gutsy series . . ." —Kirkus Reviews"Collins delivers more of what's made this series so compelling: vivid action scenes, detailed military machinations, and nuanced character development." —The Horn Book Magazine“Fans of the series will be drawn in by Collins’s tight pacing and sense of urgency.” –School Library JournalA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIESA USA TODAY BESTSELLING SERIESA BOOK SENSE BESTSELLING SERIES

From the Publisher

Gr 5-9
In his fifth adventure, Gregor is faced with his most personal challenge in the Underland-a prophecy that seems to foretell his own death. As the final confrontation between the giant rats, led by the powerful Bane, and the humans, led by young queen Luxa and her advisors, approaches, Gregor confronts his own fears and finds his own role in the fighting. The conflict brings his family from New York to the Underland, and Gregor's sister Lizzie finds her own role as the code-breaker, working with a team of representatives of the different underground species to crack the rats' secret code and to anticipate their next movements. As attacks and ambushes bring chaos to the underground city of Regalia, Gregor's role as the warrior means that it's up to him to save the day. A realistic conclusion, including the loss of old friends and a message about the importance of peace and trust, leaves readers with a sense of optimism about the future of the Underland. Friends and foes from the previous volumes reappear here, and Gregor's self-doubts and changing relationship with Luxa add to his depth as a protagonist. Fans of the series will find much to appreciate, from an enigmatic prophecy to the complex rat Ripred, and they'll be drawn in by Collins's tight pacing and sense of urgency.
—Beth L. MeisterCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

At the opening of this, the fifth and final entry in The Underland Chronicles, Gregor discovers why no one has told him what's in "The Prophecy of Time": He is to die. In short order, an airlift of mouse refugees to Regalia, capital of the human territories in the Underland, gives way to a siege by the fascist Bane and his rat hordes, abetted by the giant moles the humans had displaced centuries before when they came to the Underland. As gallons of blood spill, Gregor's math-whiz sister Lizzie helps a multi-species team break the rats' Code of Claw, and Gregor himself agonizes over whether the cause for which he fights is a just one. Perhaps Collins's greatest achievement in these tales is the effortless introduction of weighty geopolitical ethics into rip-roaring adventure. It seems as elusive in the Underland as up above, but Gregor and his companions, including the unforgettable rat Ripred, may yet find a way. The resolution is bittersweet but faintly hopeful-a fitting end for an unflinchingly gutsy series whose deftly drawn characters have always lived dangerously. (Fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews

Paul Boehmer's voice is solemn as he narrates this fifth and final fantasy in the Underland Chronicles. Gregor learns why no one has told him what is in The Prophecy of Time. It states that "the warrior will die," and Gregor is the warrior. Now he must make a hard decision: stay and fight or flee with his family. Paul Boehmer portrays Gregor as he struggles with his conflicted emotions and his growing feelings for Luxa, Queen of Regalia. Boehmer creates atmosphere by slightly modulating his voice to depict the darker tone of the story and the maturity of its theme. The satisfying conclusion is bittersweet as listeners say good-bye to the many unforgettable characters in this finely crafted series. L.A.C. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

JULY 2009 - AudioFile